Flyer for textile apparatus



Jan. 5, 1960 B ROBINSON 2,919,535

FLYER FOR TEXTILE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 II a 39 F z 7-4, i7

w INVENTOR ELVIN B. RQBMSON, Jecezsecl F 9:5 yLlLHAN CoRmNE RoBmsoN ExEcu-rmx,

A'ITORNEYS Jan. 5, 1960 B ROBINSON 2,919,535

FLYER FOR TEXTILE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 22. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I7 23 Z 9:5 Ha INVENTOR.

Ewm B.Rbamsou, deceas yLILLJAN CQRINNEROBINSON, Execu'rmx 6 12mm, m;

ATTORNEYS United States Patent FLYER FOR TEXTILE APPARATUS Elvin B. Robinson, deceased, late of Gastonia, N.C., by

' Lillian Corinne Robinson, e'xecutrix, Gastonia, N.C.,

assignor to Ideal Machine Shops, Bessemer City, N.C.,

a corporation of North Carolina Application September 22, 1958, Serial No. 762,475

8 Claims. (Cl. 57-115) This invention relates to a flyer for textile apparatus and more particularly to improvements in a flyer of the type incorporated in textile apparatus such as roving frames and the like and utilized for the twisting and winding of textile material.

In the processing of fibrous textile material such as staple fibers and the like into yarn, the elongated, drawn strand or rope of fibers commonly referred to as sliver must be gradually reduced in diameter in one or more roving operations in order to reduce the strand to a size suitable for spinning. This roving operation is carried out on apparatus generally referred to as a roving frame in which the sliver is drawn and subsequently twisted to a limited extent to give roving of sufficient strength to withstand the strain of turning the bobbin on which it is wound, in the creel of the next operation. This twisting and winding of the roving on a bobbin is carried out by means of a flyer which is generally of an inverted U-shaped or wishbone configuration and which is rotatably supported on a spindle drivably mounted on the roving frame.

The'constniction of flyers is an extremely precise undertaking because they must be accurately balanced to avoid vibration at normal running speeds. Even when the flyers are balanced with extreme accuracy, the centrifugal force on the flyer increases rapidly with increasing flyer speeds with the result that the flyer legs move radially outward, an action which is generally referred to as ballooning. Unless measures are taken to limit the ballooning action such as by holding the flyer speed below a predetermined maximum, considerable vibration occurs in the flyer and the apparatus associated therewith. Furthermore, an irregular radial movement of the flyer legs occurs, causing a lack of uniformity in the diameter of the roving being wound on the bobbin and other winding problems. If the flyer speed is further increased, regardless of the reactions above, the flyer legs could move apart to such an extent that engagement with adjacent flyers on the roving frame can occur. This, of course, means that with the constant demand for increased production from textile apparatus, the flyer speed limitation becomes a weak link in a production line as the additional output gained by increasing flyer speed is soon lost as a result of the inferiorroving produced; not to mention the attendant wear and tear on the apparatus as a result of the in- Lcreased vibration and the like. Accordingly, theprimary object of the invention is to provide a new and improved flyer for a textile apparatus. ,.Another object of the invention is to provide an improvement on a flyer for a roving frame or the like which reduces the flexing of the flyer legs to an absolute .minimum and'which permits the bobbin dofling opera- -tion .to' be carried out with ease.

A further object of the invention is to provide a {new and improved flyer for roving frames and the like swhichfmay" be operated atspeeds in excess of those pres- 2,919,535 Patented Jan. 5, 1960 ently employed in commercial practice without any decrease in the quality of the roving produced.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved flyer which produces a more evenly wound roving package than heretofore obtainable and which contains roving which is substantially uniform throughout in diameter, twists per inch, and other characteristics.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced construction for the legs of an inverted, U-shaped flyer which limits the flexure or ballooning of the legs during high speed flyer rotation, which is simple and inexpensive in construction, and which may be readily adapted to presently existing flyers of conventional construction.

In the operation of flyers such as those described above, the advance of the roving from the front drafting rolls of the roving frame to the flyer and the advance of the roving through the flyer onto the rotating bobbin is accompanied by a continuous discharge from the roving of light fibrous material such as lint and the like which is often referred to as fly. This fly creates a considerable problem in the operation of a roving frame in that it adheres to the surfaces of the flyer, bobbin, the roving itself, and other parts of the roving frame, the adherence of which is magnified by static electricity and other factors. This fly collects on these surfaces in large quantities and as is well known, causes many problems. In one particularly troublesome aspect, the fly collects adjacent the threading slot of the hollow leg of the flyer through which the roving advances as it is wound on the bobbin so that it builds up and is eventually pulled or drawn into the slot onto the roving in wads or clusters to form slubs and the like in the roving with an attendant reduction in roving quality. In another example of the fly problem, the fly collects on the roving package itself during winding so that it is cought under the roving as. it is laid on the bobbin and is carried along with the roving through subsequent operations further reducing the quality of the roving or the yarn formed from the roving.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a novel improvement on a flyer for a roving frame or the like which reduces or substantially eliminates the collection of textile fly" and similar particles of matter on the surfaces of the flyer, roving, roving package, and associated parts of the roving frame.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improved flyer for a roving frame or the like having fan means which are arranged as a component part of the flyer.

This invention further contemplates the provision of an improvement for a flyer employed on textile apparatus such as a roving frame or the like which circulates a cleansing stream of air over the flyer and parts associated therewith such as the roving bobbin and the like on which lint, fly and other undesirable air-carried textile matter are likely to collect and thereby eliminate any tendency of the collected fly to cause slubs in the roving or to interfere with the uniformity of the roving pack age.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel improvement for .flyers employed on roving frames and the like which may serve both to limit the flexing or ballooning of the flyer legs which normally occurs during high speed flyer operation and to blow a stream of cleansing air over the surfaces of the flyer and apparatus associated therewith to prevent the accumulation of textile matter such as fly.

In general, the objects of the invention and other related objects, may be accomplished by providing improvements on a flyer of conventional U-shapedconstruction utilized in textile apparatus such as a roving frame or spinning frame. The flyer is of the type which is mounted in the well known manner on the roving frame in an inverted position with the spaced-apart legs being arranged to telescopically receive or straddle a holder such as a bobbin on which the roving is wound. Reinforcing means are positioned on the upper part of the flyer in spaced relationship with the holder and the roving wound thereon for maintaining the legs in a spaced-apart relationship to reduce or substantially eliminate ballooning of the legs during high speed rotation of the fiyer. In another embodiment, fan means which may also be arranged to serve as reinforcing means for the fiyer legs are positioned on the flyer which, during flyer rotation, force a stream of air over the surfaces of the flyer and parts associated therewith and maintain the surfaces substantially free of air-carried matter such as lint, fly, and the like.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary, side elevation view of a roving frame which is provided with fiyers constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the top portion of one of the flyers shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of Figure 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an exploded, isometric view of one embodiment of the reinforcing means for the fiyer shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a partial view of a modification of the fiyer of Figure 2 shown in the operating position together with a full package of roving;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Figure 2 showing another embodiment of a fiyer in accordance with the invention;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 7-7 of Figure 6 in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 8 is an isometric view of one embodiment of the fan means for the fiyer of Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figures 1-4, one embodiment of the invention which represents an improvement in what is known in the textile industry as a fiyer. By way of background information, there is shown in Figure 1, a side view of a portion of textile apparatus such as a roving frame or the like designated generally by the numeral 18 which incorporates a plurality .of such flyers designated generally by the numeral 11. The flyers 11 are arranged as shown in the conventional uniformly spaced relationship in one or more lines on the frame.

As is well known, in the operation of a roving frame such as shown in Figure 1, a flexible strand 12 of textile fibers such as sliver is reduced to a suitable size for subsequent processing such as spinning or the like by means of drafting rolls 13. As the strand. 12 moves out of the front drafting roll, it advances to the fiyer 11 which is rotated by suitable means (not shown) to slightly twist the strand into the form of roving 14 and to wind the roving on a bobbin 16, into the form of a package 17. Each of the bobbins 16 is rotatably positioned in the well known manner on a bolster rail 18 in telescoping relationship with the fiyer 11 so that the bobbins are traversed in a vertical direction and are rotated simultaneously by suitable means such as bevel gears 19.

As shown best in Figure 2, the fiyer 11 is of a substantially U-shape or wishbone configuration having a bight portion 21 and a pair of downwardly depending legs 22, 23 arranged in spaced-apart parallel relationship. In its operating position on the roving frame of Figure 1, the fiyer is thus arranged in the inverted position so that the legs 22, 23 straddle the bobbin 16 with leg 23 serving to guide the roving 14 onto the bobbin. The fiyer 11 is provided with mounting means such as a tubular member or barrel 24 having a central bore 25 and a lateral opening 26. The barrel 24 is centrally positioned on the fiyer bight portion 21 within a socket 28 preferably formed integrally with the fiyer and is secured thereto by means such as welding or the like. By means of the bore 25 in the barrel 24 in which is inserted the upper end of a rotatable spindle 29, the fiyer is arranged to be rotated coaxially with the bobbin 16.

The leg 23 of the fiyer 11 is hollow to provide a central bore 36 for the roving 14 and contains a longitudinally extending, curvilinear slot 31 to permit threading of the roving within the bore and to retain the roving therein. The leg 23 is also provided with a collar 32 for pivotally accommodating the grip or lug 33 of a presser designated generally by the numeral 34. The presser 34 is provided with a laterally extending presser arm 36 terminating in a plate or foot 37 having an eye 38.

As shown in Figure 1, therefore, the roving 14 is directed into the bore 25 of the barrel 24, through the eye 26, and is taken a half-turn around the barrel after which it is passed through the hollow leg 23. After emerging from the leg 23, it is taken a couple of turns around the presser arm 36 and passes through the presser foot eye 38 to be subsequently wound onto the bobbin 16.

As previously explained, during the operation of the roving frame of Figure 1, the fiyer and bobbin are rotated and the bobbin is traversed vertically to build the roving package 17 on the bobbin. During this winding operation, an excessive flyer speed causes the legs 22, 23, which are unconnected at their lower end, to move apart or balloon" causing vibration and an abnormal winding action. Reinforcing means have therefore been provided for limiting the flexure or ballooning of the legs 22, 23 to permit the fiyer 11 to be rotated at relatively high speeds without reducing the quality of the roving produced by the roving frame of Figure 1.

As specifically illustrative of the invention, reinforcing or bracing members such as arms 39 are positioned on the upper portion of the fiyer 11 adjacent the barrel 24. These arms 39, which may be rods or the like, are preferably secured as shown at their inner ends to the fiyer barrel 24 and extend radially outward and downward and are secured at their outer ends by welding or the like to each of the legs 22, 23. In the specific embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, the inner ends of the arms 39 are secured to the fiyer barrel 24 by means of an annular member or ferrule 41 or the like positioned on the barrel and which is preferably secured thereto by means of welding or the like.

The outer ends of arms 39 are preferably secured to the legs 22, 23 at substantially the point where the legs join the fiyer bight portion 21 as it has been determined through observation that the flexing of the legs occurs generally within the relatively weak arcuate sections 21a, 21b in the flyer bight portion 21 and, in particular, the upper end of section 21b.

With the addition of the reinforcing members 39, the ballooning of the legs is reduced to an absolute minimum and the fiyer 11 may be taken to much higher speeds than heretofore possible without reducing the quality of the roving. Furthermore, the reinforcing members permit the production of higher quality roving than that obtained at presently employed fiyer speeds as a result of their ability to further reduce ballooning when lower fiyer speeds are employed.

Any other suitable arrangement may be employed for connecting the reinforcing members 39 in the position of Figure 2. For example, there is shown in Figure 4, one such arrangement wherein the ferrule 41 comprises a pair of complementary half-rings 41a, 41b each connected to one of the reinforcing members 39 in a one piece construction formed in any suitable manner such as by drop forging, extrusion, stamping, and the like.

Therefore in assembling the parts shown inFi gnre 4 on flyer 11, the half-rings 41a, 41bare secured in an annular arrangement on the barrel 24 by welding or the like and the outer ends of the reinforcing members are secured to the flyer legs 22, 23 in therelationship of Figure 2.

' It should be understood that if desired, the lower end of the reinforcing members 39 may be connected at any Suitable point on the legs 22, 23 as long as interference with either the parts of the roving holder such as a bobbin, spool, or the like or the roving itself on a fully Wound package is not encountered. It can be appreciated that by connecting the reinforcing members to the flyer legs closer to the lower end of the legs, improved flexure limiting action is obtained. By way of illustration, there is shown in Figure 5, a modification of the arrangement 'of Figure 2 wherein reinforcing members 39a are provided somewhat greater in length than the members 39 of Figure 2, and which depend more sharply downward. Asshown, the outer ends of the reinforcing members "39a are therefore connected to the flyer legs such that the end of one member is located at a point below the collar 32 on leg 23. It can be seen that the embodiment of Figure 5 may be more satisfactorily employed on a bobbin which may be of cylindrical shape on which is builta roving package having a conical taper at each end. The tapered ends of this type of package 17 lend themselves'more readily to the angularly disposed arrangement of the reinforcing members 39 as well as members 39a.

Referring now to Figures 6-8, there is shown a further improvement on a flyer of the type to which the invention is directed. For the purpose of clarity, like numerals will be used to identify like parts. As will be explained ;-in the detailed discussion to follow, this embodiment contemplates the provision of a one-piece construction 'containing the novel feature of reinforcing the flyer so as to limit the flexure of the flyer legs together with another novel feature by which a further problem fre- -'quently encountered in flyer operation is overcome.

As specifically illustrative of the invention, air circulating or fan means have been provided on the flyer and "parts associated therewith andas shown in Figure 6, OBQOI' more impellors or vanes 42 are positioned adjacent the" top or bight portion 21 of the flyer 1 1 and preferably within the plane of the flyer 11 in the well known manner to blow a stream of air downwardly as indicated by the arrows I over the surfaces of the flyer, rov ing, roving package, and other parts of the roving frame in ;the; immediate vicinity. The vanes 42 are preferably nest- ;ied, -as;shown,within the arcuate sections 21a, 21b of the flyer bight portion 21 between the barrel 24 and the legs 22, 2 3 and are secured by suitable means such as welding or the like to the flyer. In the specific embodiment illustrated, the vanes 42 are preferably secured at their inner ends to an annular member or ferrule 43 secured to the barrel 24' of the flyer as in the embodiment of Figure 2 and for a similar purpose "to' be explained here- 'inafter. 'In this position, the vanes 42 present no laterally projecting parts which might cause interference and they are neatly positioned within spaces Within the flyer which normally would not be utilized.

The air-carried particles of textile matter such as the fly given off by the roving 14 is therefore continuously blown away by the stream of air generated by the vanes during flyer rotation and the fly is driven downwardly beneath the roving frame where it may be disposed of by any suitable means so that the problems created by the fly referred to above are eliminated.

As shown best in Figure 7, the angular disposition of the vanes 42 is such that their leading edge is adjacent the axis of rotation of the flyer to obtain the desired, downwardly directed fan action. Furthermore, the vanes are provided with bent over portions or lips 42a. These lips 42a extend in a direction opposite to that of the directio'nof rotation of flyer 11 and serve to inhibit the. buildup of fly and the like on the lower edges of the vanes.

As referred to above, while the vanes 42 are employed as fan means, the novel arrangement of the invention permits the vanes to serve a dual purpose. By securing the inner ends of the vanes 42 to the ferrule 43 which is secured to the rigidly positioned, rotatable barrel 24, the vanes serve not only as fan means, but simultaneously as reinforcing members similar to the arms 39 in Figure 2 to limit the flexure of the legs 22, 23 in the manner discussed above.' If desired, for additional strength, the arcuate engaging surfaces between the vanes 42 and the arcuate sections 21a, 21b of the bight portion 21 may be suitably connected by means of welding or the like throughout substantially the entire engaging surfaces.

Although the vanes 42 may be attached by welding to the ferrule 43, for convenience they may be formed as an integral part of the ferrule to form a unitary part designated generally in Figure 8 by the numeral 44 and thereby permit fabrication of this unitary part by means such as forging, stamping, or the like. The vane construction of Figure 6 lends itself readily to a neat and compact arrangement for performing the dual function of fan means and flyer leg reinforcing means while the vanes 42 are sufficiently nested within the bight portion 21 of the flyer so as not to interfere with the bobbin 16 or with a completely built roving package 17 such as shown in Figure 5.

It can be seen therefore that with this invention a new and improved flyer has been provided in which many long unsolved problems presented by flyers of well known construction have been overcome. As a result of a novel reinforcing means for the flyer legs, the flyer speed may now be considerably increased over that which is presently employed in roving frames, spinning frames, and similar textile apparatus giving a productivity of substantially increased proportions with attendant reduction in cost without concern with the problem of ballooning."

For example, with the addition of the reinforcing means of the invention, a flyer may beoperated at speeds of 1800 to 2000 rpm. and up, whereas the present day speeds of conventional flyers seldom exceed approximately 850 to 1100 r.p.m.

Furthermore, this production increase in theroving as a result of increased flyer speeds permitted by the novel construction of the invention is obtained at no sacrifice in the roving quality and if the higher production speeds are not desired, the roving quality itself will be improved when the flyers are operated at presently employed fiyer speeds. The improvement of the invention may be readily adapted in a simple manner to presently existing flyers 'with no modification other than a simple attachment of -a few inexpensive, readily fabricated parts. Thus, not

only is the operation of conventional flyers materially improved by the attendant reduction in vibration so that a uniform roving is built on the bobbin but as a result of .the novel construction of the invention, the accumulation of lint, fly and the like on the flyer and roving 'package from which slubs are formed in the roving is eliminated. Furthermore, the addition of fan means and reinforcing means to the flyer is accomplished by nesting the parts in otherwise useless space with the parts lying substan for twisting and .winding a strand of textile material on, a holder comprising, in combination, an inverted, U-shaped body including a bightportionand a pair of downwardly directed legs, said body being positioned to receive said holder in telescoping relationship therewith, a vertically extending barrel on said fiyer body for rotatably mounting saidtflyer body coaxially withthe axis of said holder, said barrel being centrally arranged on the bight portion of said fiyer whereby each of the downwardly directed legs on said fiyer are connected to said barrel by an arcuate section, and reinforcing means connected between said barrel and each of said legs in spaced-apart relationship with said holder and the material wound thereon for restraining the flexing of said legs during the rotation of said fiyer, said reinforcing means being connected to said legs at substantially the outer extremity of each of said arcuate sections.

2. An improved flyer for roving frames and the like for twisting and winding a strand of textile material on a holder comprising, in combination, an inverted, U-shaped body including a bight portion and a pair of downwardly directed fiyer legs, said body being positioned to receive said holder in telescoping relationship therewith, a vertically extending barrel on'said flyer for rotatably mounting said flyer body coaxially with the axis of said holder, said barrel being centrally arranged on the bight portion of said fiyer whereby each of the downwardly directed fiyer legs are connected to said barrel by an arcuate section, a ferrule on said barrel, a pair of rod members each positioned within the space defined by said arcuatesections and substantially within the plane of saidflyer body, each of said rod members connected at their inner end to said ferrule and at their outer end to substantially the outer extremity of each of said arcuate sections in spacedapart relationship with said holder and the material wound thereon for restraining the flexing of said legs during the rotation of said fiyer.

3. An improved fiyer in accordance with claim 2 wherein said ferrule is formed from a pair of complementary half-rings and each of said half-rings is formed integrally with one of said rod members.

4. An improved flyer for roving frames and the like for twisting and winding a strand of textile material on a holder comprising, in combination, an inverted U-shaped body including a bight portion anda pair of downwardly directed legs, said body being positioned to receive said holder in telescoping relationship therewith, a vertically extending barrel on said fiyer, said barrel being centrally arranged on the bight portion of said fiyer whereby each of said downwardly directed legs are connected to said barrel by an arcuate section, a pair of vanes each fixedly mounted between said barrel and one of said legs and nested within said arcuate sections in spaced relationship with said holder and the material wound thereon for restraining the flexing of said leg during the rotation of said flyer and for directing air downwardly during the rotation of said fiyer to continuously remove air-carried textile material and the like from the'surface of said flyer and parts associated therewith.

5. An improvedtflyer in accordance with claim 4ineluding a ferrule on said barrel, and wherein the inner ends of said vanes are connected to said ferrule.

6. An improved flyer in accordance with claim 4 wherein the lower edge of said vanes are provided with a lip, said lip being directed arcuately upward in the opposite direction from said flyer rotation to prevent accumulation of lint and the like on the vane.

7. An improved fiyer for roving frames and the like for twisting and winding a strand of textile material on a holder comprising, in combination, an inverted, U-shaped body including a bight portion and a pair of downwardly directed legs, said body being positioned to receive said holder in telescoping relationship therewith, a vertically extending barrel on said fiyer body for rotatably mounting said flyer body coaxially with the axis of said holder, said barrel being centrally arranged on the bight portion of said fiyer whereby each of the downwardly directed legs on said fiyer are connected to said barrel by an arcuate section, and reinforcing means connected between said barrel and each of said legs in spaced-apart relationship with said holder and the material wound thereon for restraining the flexing of said iegs during the rotation of said flyer, said reinforcing means comprising substantially straight rod members, and said rod members being positioned substantially coplanar with said fiyer body.

8. An improved flyer for roving frames and the like for twisting and winding a strand of textile material on a holder comprising, in combination, an inverted, U-shaped body including a bight portion and a pair of downwardly directed legs, said body being positioned to receive said holder in telescoping relationship therewith, a vertically extending barrel on saidflyer body for rotatably mounting said fiyer body coaxially with the axis of said holder, said barrelbeing centrally arranged on the bight portion of said fiyer whereby each of the downwardly directed legs on said fiyer are connected to said barrel by an arcuate section, and reinforcing means connected between said barrel and each of said legs in spaced-apart relationship with said holder and the material wound thereon for restraining the flexing of said legs during the rotation of said fiyer, said reinforcing means comprising vanes for directing air downwardly during the rotation of said flyer to continuously remove air-carried textile material and the like from the surface of said fiyer-and parts associated therewith.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

